Dog Day Afternoon
by silverfoxpunk
Summary: After Tyler's traumatic transformation, Caroline takes him back to his home to rest.  She realises that this day is not over yet.  Rated M for some naughty stuff.  Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**People seem to like my previous romance, _Daisy Chain_, so I thought I would write another romance but this time featuring Caroline and Tyler, who I think are two of the more complex and interesting characters on _Vampire Diaries_. **

**If you want more Caroline stuff, please check out my story _Grill_. Reviews are genuinely welcomed, so please do let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy this first Chapter – its pretty long! Sorry about that…**

Dog Day Afternoon

If Caroline was angry, she wasn't showing it. She was sat in his bedroom window, legs crossed away from him, gazing silently into the middle distance.

Tyler watched her from the corner of his eye. He was on his bed, kneeling on all fours panting; exhausted. Keeping his eyes open was just about all he could manage. He couldn't focus on anything; his brain was just a swirling mess of confusion. He tried to slow down his breathing, but it came out all-raggedy, reminding him of the once asthmatic childhood he thought he had put behind him.

Caroline seemed to come-to. She smiled at him sadly, but remained quiet. She was giving him time and space to recover and he appreciated it.

He tore his eyes away, and concentrated instead on the space between his hands where the bed sheet was stretched taut. He realized he was too hot and his brow was sticky with sweat. He worked the sheet into knots as he tried to speak. He couldn't remember how he got home.

"_H-how… how… how did I…?"_

"I brought you here," she interrupted, "don't you remember?" Caroline's eyebrows furrowed, spoiling the pretty symmetry of her face.

Her concern for him was palatable, but right now he didn't know how to put her mind at rest. Maybe she _should _be worried; he realized he was in a pretty bad shape.

"_D-don't…. re… re-member."_ He stuttered through awkward breaths.

He began to feel a rising sense of panic. His breathing was getting shallower and he began to hyperventilate. She rushed over to him from her window seat and stroked his back with delicate fingers.

"Don't speak, just breathe. Do it with me now. Come on; breathe in…. and out…. in… and out. That's it, keep it up."

Her soothing tones and the comforting stroking motions began to have an effect. Finally the sense that the bed was moving beneath him began to fade.

He flopped onto his side and pulled his legs up towards his chest, wrapping his arms around them. Caroline continued to breathe with him, and remained stroking his back. She leaned in towards him and whispered sweet epithets, some of which he heard, some of which he merely felt as light breath against his cheek. Two, maybe three minutes passed like this before he felt stable enough to try and speak again. He looked up at her, and she smiled.

"Caroline…" he began, but the emotion he had been suppressing all day suddenly overcame him and hot fierce tears sprang into his eyes. Their urgency overwhelmed him, and then the only further sound he could emit was a deep and guttural sob mixed with her name.

He just knew he had to hold her, and he pulled her roughly onto the bed beside him, crushing her body into his with a neediness that neither of them expected. Instinctively she seemed to know how to respond. She lay there quietly, arm draped over him, and let him cry violently; his body wracked with a different type of pain to the kind it had been subjected to before.

She didn't speak, not even when his tears made her hair stick to her face, or when her left arm was crushed awkwardly beneath her and starting to deaden. She lay there still and patient and waited for the sobbing to subside. And by the time that had happened, she realized that she too had tears rolling down her face, so tired and upset had she become by the day's events.

He was quieter now and no sooner as the emotion had drained from him, he fell into a deep and restful sleep. She didn't want to disturb him, but realized that she too was weak with tiredness. She closed her eyes for a brief moment.

* * *

She hadn't meant to fall asleep so heavily, but she did, and she awoke with a start to find herself alone in Tyler's bed, a patchwork quilt pulled over her and shoes removed.

She was dehydrated and more than a little disorientated. She threw back the quilt and removed her cardigan that had gotten twisted around her body uncomfortably. She pulled the quilt back over her whilst she decided what to do next. She had a horrid feeling in the pit of her stomach, and the sense that she wanted to cry welled up inside her.

She tried to assess the time of day: the room was dark, but moonlight was streaming through open blinds. There were no clocks on the walls or by the bed, but she guessed it was around midnight. She yawned involuntarily and found that even though she must have slept for hours, she still felt tired.

She faced facts; Tyler was gone.

She suddenly realized that that simple fact was responsible for the terrible feelings she had now. She had woken up to find him not there beside her. She couldn't believe how sad that made her feel.

* * *

"You're awake."

Tyler leant forward into the moonlight. She realized he had been there all along, but was sat on the floor in the corner of the room, concealed by shadows. A feeling of relief washed over her. She wanted to run to him and hold him, but she merely relaxed her grip on the quilt.

"I thought you were gone." She said.

He got up and walked over to the bed.

"I was watching you sleep. You looked so peaceful." He crouched down by her side.

"What time is it?"

"Near dawn, I think," he leant over her and brushed a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She raised her hand to his, and held his wrist.

"Are you okay?" she looked deep into his eyes as she said it, searching for so many answers. Her question, they both realized, could relate to a million and one different parts of their day. He shook his head in the negative, stood up quickly and turned away from her.

"I'll get you some water." He said, and left the room.

She lay back on the bed and sighed. He couldn't seem to face what had happened today. It was all too much for him. She didn't know how to help him and she didn't like that. He returned with a glass of water and she finished it in one.

"Another?" he asked, and she shook her head. He took the empty glass from her and wandered over to the window and looked out at the huge fall moon and bright star-laden sky. She knew the Native Americans called this the Moon of the Falling Leaves, and were generous with legends about its portents.

"I think my mom must be out. The house is even quieter than normal."

He dropped his fist to the window seat and it resonated with a slightly hollow sound. She realized it was probably one of those ones that contained space for storage. Tyler could feel Caroline's eyes on him. He put down the glass and lifted open the window seat. He rummaged inside for a moment and then pulled out a stuffed toy. It was a little spotted hyena. He knocked the dust off of it, and held it up in the moonlight so she could see it. He pressed its tummy, and it let out that wild familiar cackle that gave them the handle, 'laughing'.

"I always loved this. I suppose I should have given it to thrift long ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to. Why is that?" his gaze lingered on the dog as if it held all the answers, then he threw it back with force into the seat and slammed the lid shut.

"_Fuck!" _

He dumped himself down on the seat and buried his head in his hands, his body once again taut with tension. A cloud passed in front of the moon and the room became dark.

Caroline, who had been still throughout his whole one-sided conversation, swung her legs over the side of the bed. She massaged some feeling back into her thighs and stood as if testing her weight. She walked towards him, and paused for a moment in front of him. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

In a second his anger flashed; he knocked her hand away and was immediately on his feet.

"_Why are you here?" _he screamed, his uncontrollable rage directed at her. He spat out words with a power that would have had most girls running from the room.

"_What do you want from me? I don't want this! I don't want you here!"_ he screamed, his face red with the force of his anger.

She did not move a muscle, but stayed standing exactly where she was. She made it clear that she wasn't scared; that she knew that he wasn't in control of himself, his emotions or his body, (to her bitter chagrin, this was something she had experience of). Caroline knew he was lost and alone, and was testing her loyalty, even if he didn't understand this. She was strong enough, and she kept her ground.

As suddenly as the temper had flared up, it left him completely. He reached out for her and pulled her into his arms.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know why I said those things. I don't know why I say anything any more. What is happening to me?" he looked as though he was about to tip into tears again, and she felt it was her responsibility to stop this self-destructive cycle.

She reached up and held his shoulders firmly.

"Now you listen to me Tyler Lockwood and you listen good. You _will_ get through this. You will. Because the Tyler I know is not this person. I've known you my whole life. I saw how the other kids treated you, as someone different. They were jealous because you had privilege and status and wealth. You _never_ let that get to you. You made yourself the most popular guy; the captain of the football team, the guy that everyone wanted to hang with, the guy every girl wanted to be with. You had to find ways to do that every day. People think that stuff comes easy, but it doesn't. It takes it out of you. I've seen you struggle and become stronger. Nothing comes easy; it's all at a price. Tyler, don't be scared of what you are – because what you are, is wonderful."

The moon peeped out from behind its cloud, the shaft of silvery light illuminating her golden hair and giving her eyes extra sparkle. There was so much he didn't understand, he thought; like why she would put up with everything that had happened between them today. He was this beast, this mess of aggression and rage. He could have killed her many times over, so why was she still here? She seemed to read his thoughts.

"I'm here, because I want to be. I want to be, with you."

He put his hand out and touched her face, brushed her flawless downy cheek. He needed to look her in the eyes to know, was she saying what he thought she was? He was so bad with women's signals. He needed to know for sure. Her gaze met his and examined all the emotions playing out across his face – Tyler never had been able to hide what he felt, he was a pretty straightforward guy like that. She had always liked that about him. His cheek twitched with the tension he was feeling. She glanced behind him to the star-filled sky and that seemed to help her to make up her mind. He was frozen with indecision, so she took control.

Caroline stepped in towards him and pressed her body against his, pulling him into a long and sensual kiss. His body, stiff at first, quickly responded as his tension found a willing and pleasurable outlet, somewhere for him to direct his myriad of confused feelings. This was something he knew, something tangible he could feel and understand. His hands slipped from being entwined in her hair, down her back to her buttocks, and she allowed him to lift her up and carry her to his bed.

* * *

He took off his shirt and threw it to one side. She pulled off her vest top, and did the same. At the sight of her creamy skin and the curves of her body, he inhaled sharply. He kissed her passionately, his hands immediately kneading at her breasts, pulling them free from her bra and suckling each proud nipple with delightful greed. His hands worked to pull her out of her jeans and she wriggled to help him. He tore off her panties, and she was shocked at how excited the sound of the ripping fabric made her.

He kissed down her body and between her legs, and she flung her head back. His tongue found her sweet spot almost immediately and she sighed with a profound pleasure.

His beautiful body was not lost on her either; he was tanned and fit, and would have had a naturally toned body even without the many hours he put into sport to keep it that way. His broad back rippled in the moonlight, and she allowed her hands to travel over it as he busied himself kissing her thighs. He grasped her ass, raising her up so he could pleasure her more deeply. She gasped and came suddenly and unexpectedly. He knew ways to make her pleasure last, and did not stop until her body fully subsided from all the little after-shocks of her release.

It was only at this point that he decided to slide out of his black 501s. She couldn't help but notice that he was even more impressive fully naked. He was near perfection, and she had to confess that she was hungry for him. He lowered his body over hers and slid between her legs, entering her and using his rhythm to continue to give her little jolts of pleasure. She looked down at his taut buttocks as his body moved inside her, she slid her hands over him, fingers lingering on every plane, enjoying every inch of him. He seemed lost in the moment, a bit outside of himself, as if he was abandoning himself to the feeling but also intent on controlling it. It was confusing, but hot as hell. He was definitely testing her stamina, and she was finding it hard to keep up.

Not content with being on top, he used his considerable strength to pull her up onto his lap. She loved this, not just because he was deeper inside of her, but they got to be at eye level, whilst his powerful hands supported her and traced a line down her back. She arched her back, and enjoyed the ride, pushing her breasts up towards his face where he nuzzled them. His hands dropped to feel the curve of her behind, and increased his speed as his excitement began to peak. She felt it too, and she stopped curving herself away from him, instead slipping her hand to the back of his neck and curling her fingers into his soft hair. When they met each other's gaze at last, he came immediately and she had to grip to stay on him, as he jolted and bucked his way to his moment - his "little death".

* * *

They remained like that, locked together with his head resting on her shoulder, his arms around her, hands resting lightly on her behind. She kissed the top of his head, and he responded by pulling her closer to him, a real warmth to his embrace. After some moments had passed, they untangled themselves, and he lay down on the bed, arms behind his head. She lay next to him, a hand on his chest. He dropped an arm over her, pulled her into him and kissed the crown of her head whilst inhaling her scent. She gazed at the glittering dew of perspiration on his chest.

"I'm starving! I want something to eat. Don't you?" she stifled a laugh. Where had that come from? He shifted and sat upright.

"I guess," she agreed tentatively, "I suppose it has been a while since we ate anything." He crawled across her and jumped out of the bed.

He jogged out of the room. She took to opportunity to collapse back on the mattress, wondering if he was always this manic after sex, or whether this was part of the weirdness going on with him. He burst back into the room, carrying a cream-colored satin robe.

"I found this," he said, "come on, let's go get something to eat."

She reached out for the robe and slipped it on. It was probably his mother's (she tried not to think about that), but it was pretty nonetheless. Definitely high quality. She doubted Carol Lockwood would appreciate her wearing it after sharing a coital moment with her son, but what the heck.

He had slipped on his 501s, and took her by the hand leading her from the room. They walked down the stairs, and into the depths of the house to the big and empty kitchen. The tiles were freezing cold on her bare feet, but she didn't complain.

Rather than turn on an overhead light, he switched on the cooker-hood light, and the soft glow emphasized his handsome naked chest. She pulled the robe closer around her as the heat from their encounter wore off, leaving her shivering. He didn't seem to notice the cooler air as he bounced between the fridge and the larder, pulling out ingredients to make, well - goodness knows what. When she looked again, he was cracking eggs into a bowl and beginning to beat them with a whisk.

"I didn't know you could cook." She said.

"Actually, I like to cook," he smiled, "I'm not good or anything – but I can make an omelet."

"Do you like bacon?" he asked, and she nodded. He fired up the big gas stove in the centre of the kitchen, and put an omelet pan on it to heat.

He quickly made her an omelet with bacon lardons, herbs and shavings of Swiss cheese, and turned it deftly out onto a plate. He popped a fork on the side, and after having some trouble locating a napkin, handed it all to her. She thanked him.

He went about repeating the process until he was ready to join her. Whereas she took her time to eat, he gulped down his omelet in four bites. It was good. They tidied up after themselves and put their plates into the industrial-sized dishwasher. No boy had ever cooked for her before and she could only burn water, so she felt suddenly overcome with inadequacy and shyness.

"Thank you." Was all she could bring herself to say. She was quite confused by this Tyler, the confident and relaxed man who was a world apart from the lost and lonely boy she had been with this afternoon. He changed so fast.

He dropped an arm lazily across her shoulders and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"You're welcome," he said, "I'm not sleepy, let's do something."

"Like what?" she asked.

"I wanna, I dunno…. I think I wanna run. Yeah, let's go for a run!" his eyes lit up.

She couldn't believe it. It was definitely dawn now, the sun was rising and she was properly exhausted. She was stressed by his bouncy enthusiasm – there was something 'off' about it. She once had dated a guy who she discovered was on steroids and something about Tyler's demeanor reminded her of that. Up one minute, down the next. She couldn't keep up.

"I don't know Tyler, I'm pretty tired. It's been a long couple of days. I kinda just wanted to shower and chill out. You know?"

He didn't seem bothered by this.

"Oh sure. Of course – I wasn't thinking. That's ok. Look why don't you go shower, get back to bed and catch some zees. But I think I need to go run. I don't know, I'm kinda antsy." He was already stretching and limbering up.

She felt a growing sense of unease. Something was wrong with this picture.

"Tyler, are you ok?" she asked for the second time that evening.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm cool." He leant in to give her a quick kiss. "You're beautiful babe, but I gotta go do my thing." He gave her a big grin. "I'll be back before you wake up."

"OK. You take care now." She said, trying to hide the worry in her voice. "I'll be here when you get back."

"See you later." He said, running back into the house to get changed, taking the stairs three at a time.

She realized that the chill running through her was more than just the morning air. She had to do something, but she was at a loss to know what. Perhaps it was time to call in the help of some friends.


	2. Awkward

**Ok super-quick recap… Caroline had taken Tyler back to his home after his ordeal turning wolfy. They shared a connection and made love. His changeable mood gave Caroline cause for alarm, and she was left feeling she needed to consult her friends.**

**Please do let me know if you like where this is going; I really do appreciate your reviews. Hope you enjoy Chapter 2….**

**(OK, and just for the record I'm British, so if I get some of my references wrong – I apologize!)**

Dog Day Afternoon

Chapter 2:

"Awkward"

The shrill sound of coach's whistle drifted over the field towards them, cutting through the general noise of the team's calls to each other. He had them practicing corner routes after Tyler had just surprised them all with a Hail Mary pass that was the kind of stunt nobody pulled off at practice, but kept in reserve for the game. He was lumbering around the field now, pissing off the lesser players by fooling around then pulling off amazing moves just when everybody thought he couldn't possibly be concentrating. In short, he was laughing his ass off at their expense.

Caroline puckered her lips as she watched him. She took a drink of her slushy, and pulled her knees up onto the bench. It was a crisp cool day, and she could see her breath when she spoke. It really wasn't the kind of weather for iced drinks.

Elena looked from the field, back to Caroline.

"Ok, what's going on?" she said, a no-nonsense tone about her voice. Caroline shrugged.

"Nothing."

"Oh sure, and that's why we are sat here drinking slushies; which by the way, you only do when you are upset." Caroline looked at her friend, and damned her for her perceptiveness. "Caroline, what's happening? You've got to tell me."

"Look, if I tell you, you have to promise not to judge me," she kept her eyes on the field because if she looked at Elena, she wouldn't have the guts to continue. At that moment, Tyler romped past them performing a perfect forward pass that left Stefan cursing his inability to use his vamp skills and even things up a bit. He took a glance at Elena as if it to say 'WTF?' and she shrugged. Stefan jogged back to his position, shaking his head.

"I'm not proud of this, but I want you to know that it meant something to me, okay?" Elena furrowed her brow, but nodded solemnly. What the hell was this?

"I slept with Tyler." Caroline left a pause and stole a glance at her best friend to see how she had taken this. As expected, she looked pretty shocked.

"I didn't mean to, but we just bonded, and well… he needed me. I mean he _really_ needed me." Elena looked back at the field. Tyler was a good-looking guy, hell most of the players were, but Caroline had never really given him the time of day before. He also didn't strike her as the needy type. There was more to this.

"Okay…" Elena said warily, unwilling to form an opinion at this stage, "you better start at the beginning."

Caroline waggled her feet and examined her shoes. They were her favorites; a pair of killer red pumps that were completely inappropriate for walking to the bleachers in. She realized that for the past three days she had done whatever she had wanted to do. It was like she couldn't say no to herself. A sure sign that she was upset.

Since they had slept together, it hadn't happened again. Afterwards, Tyler had gone for a run, and when he came back, he found that she had left. She had written him a slightly cryptic note to say '_When you need me, I'll always be there for you.'_ He had been confused by it, but nonchalant. He liked her a lot, but if she was going to go all distant on him, he would leave her be. Maybe he would just let things settle, see how the play evolved.

Caroline remembered how difficult it had been to leave the house that early morning. She felt odd about their time together. It had been seriously intense, both through the transformation and the sex afterwards. Actually, when she thought about that a little ripple of lust passed through her body. My goodness he was hot in bed, and she had to admit was probably the best she had been with. But she was saddened by the fact that he hadn't called her since. Not even a text. She supposed that she wanted reassurance that it had meant as much to him, as it had to her. She had to admit that if it hadn't, well, it wouldn't be the first time a guy had let her down in this way. She decided that he just needed more time, but deep down, she wondered if she was lying to herself.

"I was there Elena. When he turned."

"My God, Caroline! You could have been killed! What were you thinking?" Elena was really angry with her.

"No, it wasn't like that," she said turning to face her now, "you didn't see it. It was awful. Really awful. So painful, and it went on for hours. We had this footage of his uncle Mason transforming, which really scared the shit out of him, but honestly, it was nothing compared to what he went through. For a while, I didn't think he would make it."

She paused for breath and it was Elena's turn to look away. Naturally her eye went to Stefan. She wondered if the plays were too loud for him to pick up what they were saying. She tried to read his face, but he didn't give anything away before a quarterback lunged at him taking him off his feet.

"Go on…"

"I was there for him, and I took him back to his place afterwards. I'm not sure why, but I stayed because he was so… I don't know – ill I guess. I didn't mean to, but I fell asleep for a bit, and when I woke up he was there and he was really upset and he needed me, and then we slept together..." The last bit of her story tumbled out as one long sentence. She hadn't realized how much she needed to tell someone about it all. She wondered if she should share that he cried bitterly and that she had held him for a long time, but decided against it; there were some things a boy would rather a girl didn't share with her friends.

"It was incredible, Elena," She looked at her friend, who had the grace to blush. "We were very connected, I guess. It's never been like that before. I know I really helped him, but after he was weird. Kinda pumped, you know?"

"Not really…"

"Well, remember that douche-bag, Dan, I dated last fall?"

"Steroids boy?"

"Yeah, him. He was kind of like that guy. Jumpy. I mean he should have been exhausted by everything that had happened to him, but he just got all Energizer-bunny and wanted to go for a run. It was off: really off."

They were interrupted at that moment by Elena's phone beeping. A text from Bonnie.

_where r u?_

_bleachers. boy, u gotta get here quick._

Bonnie found them moments later, and after customary greetings were exchanged she sat on the bench below them.

"Ok, what is going on? I get the distinct impression I'm missing something." She said, looking from Elena's face (raised eyebrows), to Caroline's (looking down at her feet).

"Tell her, Caroline. She needs to hear it."

So Caroline ran through it again, with the two women asking her questions when appropriate and just letting her speak when it wasn't. They were interested in the transformation (distressing), a little in the sex (turns out Tyler _was_ as hot as he looked), what it meant for her and Matt (she couldn't process that right now), and a whole-lot-interested in the lack of communication since.

"No call, no anything?" Bonnie checked again incredulously. Caroline shook her head.

"So _that's_ why we are here…" Elena guessed, watching the players doing goal-line touches. Caroline nodded.

"I don't want to speak to him. I just wanted to see him again…" Her voice tailed off.

Elena and Bonnie exchanged glances. This sounded serious. Caroline had had one night stands before, but she had never been like this afterwards, all self-reflective and worried. This required some thought.

"Look," Elena said standing, "I've gotta go because I promised Jenna I would pick up dinner, but this conversation isn't over, okay? We'll have a think about it and come up with some kind of action plan, all right?" She looked at Bonnie, who nodded quickly. "Okay?" she said pointedly at Caroline, who eventually nodded too.

"Later girls. We'll talk." She jumped down the bleachers and backed down the edge of the field. Caroline's head was hung low, so she took the opportunity to make a 'call me' sign to Bonnie as she did so.

Bonnie watched her leave, then turned to Caroline, putting a comforting hand on her knees.

"Its ok sweetie, don't worry. We'll figure out what to do somehow." She said. Caroline merely nodded dejectedly in reply.

* * *

In the locker room, Tyler was getting the cold shoulder from more than one person. Stefan walked up to him as he dried off.

"Dude, you really are a dick sometimes. You know that?" Tyler merely laughed it off.

Stefan looked at him as though he had lost it and walked away. He had never really gotten along with Tyler anyway; clearly that was not about to change any time soon. And that was not even taking into account their natural predisposition to be enemies.

Tyler spotted Matt coming towards him like he wanted to say something. At that moment a few guys passed between them and Tyler took the opportunity to duck away. He didn't know if it was the practice or Caroline that Matt wanted to discuss, but either way, he just didn't want to get into it right now.

* * *

Elena hurried her family through dinner. Jer had barely finished his last mouthful, before she had whipped the plate away from him and begun clearing down.

"O-kay… I take it we're done here." He said sarcastically, rising from his seat, popping his headphones on and heading back upstairs to his room.

Jenna called after him, _"Don't forget to take the garbage out!"_ and received a grunt in response. She sighed, he had grown up a whole lot of late, but in many ways, Jer was just exactly what he should be: a pain-in-the-ass teen. She put her reading glasses on and walked to their study so she could work. _"Thanks Elena."_ She called over her shoulder as she left.

Elena, took a quick look up the stairs to make sure Jeremy really was in his room, and a peek towards Jenna, who was shutting the study door behind her. The coast was clear.

She pulled out her cell and hit Bonnie's name on speed dial. She wasn't about to call her from the home phone, she had made_ that _mistake before (goodness knows what Jer had heard from the upstairs handset – ok he was only eight when that had happened, but that wasn't the point).

Bonnie sounded excited as soon as she picked up. She had already pinged her twice during supper, which Elena had been forced to ignore.

"Oh. My. Fucking. God!" she began, her voice at squeal-factor eight. Elena giggled.

"I can't believe it, I mean wasn't she in love with Matt only two minutes ago?" Elena thought out loud.

"Well, to be fair, it did sound like they went through quite a lot. I'm not sure she was thinking straight." Bonnie surmised fairly, "I think she's pretty cut-up about it actually. After you left and practice ended, the boys walked off the field and he didn't even look our way. She didn't say anything, but I know that hurt."

Elena sat down with a thud on the living room sofa and put her feet up. Hell, this was one of those conversations which was gonna last a while - she may as well make herself comfortable.

They talked for a bit about their friend's predicament, and Bonnie came up with the observation that perhaps Tyler's change was supported by a big surge of testosterone. She said maybe the hormone that was still surging through his body after his transformation, making him act strangely. Elena remembered the time when her mom had begun her change of life. Before she had been prescribed HRT (known in their household as 'the wonder drug'), she had been really unpredictable; changeable moods swings from incredible highs, to unbelievable lows. She thought there was something to Bonnie's theory and she told her so.

"The question is, what are we going to do about? I mean, putting aside the issue of how she feels about Matt, she really seems to need to work this thing out with Tyler." Elena suggested and Bonnie agreed.

"I think she needs closure. She went through this big ordeal with him and now he's acting like she doesn't exist. She needs to talk things over with him and he's acting like a kid with ADHD."

"Hmm," Elena agreed, "it's gonna be hard. I mean, I would talk to him, but if he's unpredictable and as strong as she says, maybe it isn't safe for _any_ of us to do that." She thought about it for a second. "I mean, I'd ask Stefan to speak to him, but its even worse for him."

Bonnie bit down the sense of annoyance that she was once again considering doing something which would protect a vampire, but she let it go. Right now there were more important things to worry about; her friend was in pain and she wanted to help.

"When you have hormone or behavioral problems, they prescribe tablets, right? Take off the edges. Flatten things out a bit."

"Yeah… but we don't know what's happening to him exactly. The hormone thing is just a theory." Bonnie replied.

"I'm not suggesting we drug him," Elena said, "but what about if we did the next best thing? What if you were to put a calming spell on him just long enough so she could talk to him? Something to repress his impulses, like a witchy Ritalin!" she said triumphantly.

"Hmm, I don't know. It sounds kind of risky."

"We'll make sure nothing happens to her. We'll tell her we think the best thing to do is for her to talk to him. And when she goes, she won't know that you have already cast your spell. But she can't find out. She mustn't think we've intervened, or she'll think that we have also put words in his mouth. He has to speak for himself, but if he's so punchy right now, he can't concentrate long enough to even talk to her."

"I suppose so," Bonnie capitulated, "I guess it could work…"

"It will. Trust me."

"When shall we do it?"

"It has to be tomorrow – any longer, and she will put up her barriers like she does after any date that goes bad. She'll pretend none of it matters; but I think this time, that would be really bad for her. We need to give her this chance to talk."

Bonnie agreed, and after talking the plan over some more and refining the details, she hung up.

* * *

Stefan was alone for the evening as both he and Elena had a pile of homework to do and he knew that if they saw each other it would never get it done. Of course, that was actually her plan, but he had gone along with it.

He was rifling through some ancient paperwork to see if he could turn in something he had written in the last 30 years on Jane Eyre. It was actually depressing how little curriculums had changed.

Finally he found what he was looking for, a University essay entitled "Jane Eyre and the 'id'". 'Close enough', he thought. He begin typing it up whilst simultaneously dumbing it down; this was a high school paper after all and not the doctorate it was originally written for. Besides, this kind of work acted as a good distraction. He hated spending time away from Elena, but he had to remember that this was her only shot at high school. Even when he didn't mean for it to, his vampire life and problems kept making her miss lessons and she was slowly but surely falling behind. She needed time away from him, no matter how hard that was for either of them.

One of the 'vampire problems' he was referring to, walked into his room now, unannounced and unwelcome as always. Damon flopped onto Stefan's bed, picking up a photo of the happy couple from Stefan's bedside as he did so.

"What's this? I haven't seen _this_ one before." He remarked, gazing at the picture of them together at one of their dances. "My, don't you look just spiffing." He mocked.

"I assume you want something Damon, otherwise can you please leave my stuff alone and get out." Stefan said. Not that he actually expected his brother to listen.

"Oooh, tetchy. I guess you don't want to know about the dog then." Damon gloated, getting up to leave the room, and tossing the picture onto the floor as he did so.

"What dog?" Stefan called after him, with irritation.

"Oh, nothing much – just some kinky little sex games between the hairy one and my old squeeze."

"By the 'hairy one', I assume you mean Tyler Lockwood? And Caroline? Seriously?" OK, he had his attention, "You're making this up."

"Alrighty, then." Damon walked out the door. "If you insist."

"Hey! Hang on a minute, get back here." Stefan demanded. "What's going on, and why would you know about it anyway?"

Damon popped his head back around the door.

"Well, I just happened to be in the locality of our friendly neighborhood witch, and I just happened to overhear a rather interesting little conversation she was having with – now let me see – could it have been, Elena?"

Stefan looked irritated that he had to play the game to get the information. He also noted for later that he would have to discuss Damon's eavesdropping, which was becoming a real annoyance.

"Okay, what has Elena got to do with this?" he said, beginning to lose his temper.

"Well, where to start dear brother?" Damon said, assuming his role as 'giver of knowledge' with delight.

* * *

"I don't like it, Elena. It's dangerous. Tyler Lockwood is dangerous. You keep away from him."

He was stood in Elena's bedroom, giving her orders that he knew damn well she would ignore. Keeping her safe from herself was a full-time job.

"It's none of your business, Stefan. This is my friend we are talking about. My best friend!" she said tetchily. "Now, will you get out?"

He knew he wouldn't get anywhere with this line of approach, so he tried a new tack.

"Okay, okay. So I'm not going to be able to stop this, but if I can't, then I at least want to be there. In case things get ugly."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he kissed her quickly and was gone before she could.

She sighed. Time to get locks on her windows, she thought for the hundredth time.

Tomorrow 'Plan Awkward' would go ahead as they had discussed, and she seriously doubted that it would go as expected. Little did in her life these days.


	3. Troubled Waters

**Super quick update: OK, Caroline and Tyler had slept together after his day transforming into a werewolf. She had shared with Bonnie and Elena her worry that something was wrong with him, and the girls had come up with a plan to secretly put a calming spell on Tyler, to allow her a chance to speak to him safely and sort out their feelings for one another.**

**I know next to nothing about yachting, so once again forgive any incorrect references. Why do I pick stuff to write about that I know nothing about? I like a challenge I guess!**

**Reviews welcome. Enjoy part 3 (kind of long again – but with only one part left after this, I had to cram a lot in).**

Dog Day Afternoon

Chapter 3: Troubled Waters

Caroline sat looking forlornly out of her windshield. She had familiarized herself with pretty much everything about the exterior of the Lockwood home and also the interior of her car, down to the color of the skirt of the little hula-girl who wobbled on her dashboard. What did she have to be so cheery about anyway, she thought sourly and flicked her with a finger - making the trinket bounce around wildly. Something about that only reminded her of what she was here to do. She knew it was time to take the bull by the horns and step outside, but still she didn't move.

She had been paralyzed like this for ten minutes now. Normally she faced things head on, that was just her way. But something about speaking to Tyler again, scared her. It wasn't how unpredictable he could be (and potentially violent), she had strength aplenty for that; it was, she admitted, the fear of rejection. She had faced that many times over too, but this was somehow different. She realized she cared what the outcome was. With a massive sigh she flopped her head against her steering wheel.

_Tap tap!_

The sound made her jump. She flung her head up at the sound and looked at her driver's side window where the noise had come from. To her surprise she saw that it was Tyler. She hit the switch to lower the window.

"Hey, beautiful." He said, a big grin on his face. "You come to see to me, or are you here to see my mom on 'important town business'?" he joshed.

She smiled, a wave of relief washing over her as she realized this may (just possibly), go better than expected. Tyler seemed relaxed and happy. She opened the car door and got out. He immediately pulled her into a crushing hug. As she wasn't expecting this, her arms were pinned to her sides and she failed to return the affection. By the time she had freed one hand from his vice like grip, she felt that to place it on his back was a pathetic response. Before she could think about a way to respond that was suitable, he had already moved around to the passenger side of her car.

"Come on, get in," he insisted, "I wanna take you somewhere."

* * *

As the car drove off, Elena lowered the binoculars she had borrowed from Alaric.

"What the hell?" said Bonnie, echoing her thoughts precisely. "I can't do this spell on a moving target!" she worried.

"Come on, start the car." Elena instructed. "We need to follow them. He surely can't do anything whilst she's driving."

"This is bad…" warned Stefan from the back seat.

"You're not making it any better, Stefan!" snapped Elena.

She hated to admit it, but he was right. Things were already going badly. They had only just turned up because Bonnie had gotten a flat on the way, and although Stefan had changed it with Vamp speed, the spell which was supposed to be complete before Caroline even arrived, was not even in progress by the time she met Tyler.

Elena was cheered somewhat by the apparently friendly way in which Caroline had been greeted, but she was nervous that things would change fast. What's more, none of them had anticipated a road trip and Bonnie didn't have a whole lot of gas in the tank. This plan was going sour fast and Stefan brooding in the back seat did not improve her mood.

"Well come on, Bonnie."

"Geez Louise, I'm on it." She said, bringing her car back into stuttering life.

"Isn't it time you got rid of this junker anyway?" Elena snarled.

Bonnie thought it best all round if she chose to ignore her, and for the sake of their friendship, she bit her tongue.

* * *

They turned into the Mystic Club Boatyard on Tyler's directions. The guard on the gate had leaned down towards the passenger side window, and on seeing Tyler had waved them through with a _"It's been a while, Master Lockwood. Nice to see you."_ and Tyler had replied with a, _"Sure thing, Pete."_

Tyler explained to her where to park, and Caroline pulled over in a spot right on the harbor side which was clearly designated 'Lockwood' in nautical red and white paint. They drew some attention from a number of club members, who were stepping off their yachts and heading to the clubhouse. A few waved at Tyler and called out greetings to him. He responded in kind, seemingly at home in this world of exclusivity.

She grabbed her purse and her hand was on the door about to get out when she spotted him rushing round to her side to open it for her. She found herself blushing at the chivalry. She suspected it was all a bit of a show for the people around them, (who were pretending not to notice her closely, but she suspected they could point her out in a lineup at fifty paces). She was grateful that she had spent so long figuring out what she was going to wear today, and in fact her blue short pants and pretty floral blouse had actually been a surprisingly appropriate choice. The weather was cooler now and the sunlight unpredictable, so she was pleased she had her D&G shades. She slipped them off her head and onto the bridge of her nose; a convenient place to hide.

It turned out the Lockwoods owned a yacht. She would add this to things she had learned today, along with how not to walk on decking in heels. The boat had apparently been in something known as 'dry dock' for over a year, which she presumed meant it had been mothballed when the Mayor had died. Tyler explained that they used to sail together when he was a kid, but that he had "less time for it than my dad wanted me to have" as he had gotten older. He had called ahead to the Club when they were on route, and she could see a number of men with pulleys and other machinery lowering what seemed to her to be a surprisingly small boat into the water. Tyler left her alone at the shore, feeling vulnerable and stared at, whilst he oversaw proceedings. She thought she saw money changing hands, but guessed in a place like this that regular and generous tipping of the staff was the way to stay top-dog. Just when she felt entirely like a spare part, he turned to face her and waved her across.

Tyler leaped up a rickety plank balanced on the edge of the yacht and leading to their mooring. She could see now her rather unimpressive mode of transport was called "_Eloise"_" as depicted in peeling gold script on the stern. She felt nervous walking up the gangplank of tipping into the sea, but Tyler's hands were strong and sure as he guided her across. As soon as she was on board, he dropped her hands and dashed off, busying himself with ropes and cables and negotiating a deck crowded with paraphernalia.

"She's a thirty-five footer, with twin keels and my father's pride and joy." He shouted across to her as he worked.

He disappeared inside the little cabin and returned thirty seconds later carrying a hideous and faded orange lifejacket.

"Put this on." He instructed.

She slipped it over her head, and passed the cord around her body a couple of times, following the advice of a dozen flight attendants who had shown her what to do 'in case of emergency'. To add insult to injury, he then took something which looked like a pair of metal camping clips joined by a long thin cable and then attached one end to a loop in her lifejacket, then the other to a wire which ran around the perimeter of the boat.

She had seen Duran Duran's Rio and this was not it.

"If you want to walk around, just unclip it and move it to the next section. It's just in case." He said seeing her face. In case of what? She frowned.

He was dressed in knee-length shorts, a striped Breton sweater and flat docksides. Caroline noticed he neither wore the hideous lifejacket, nor hooked himself to the wire. He looked pretty impressive, she had to admit, as he reeled things in and dodged about handling sail cloth and other things. He jumped back onto the dockside and untied the rope of their mooring. The boat began to drift slightly away and she felt uneasy until he made two quick leaps back up the plank and pulled it up behind him into the boat. They were away.

"Tie the painter up will you?" when she looked clueless, he indicted the rope which had connected them to the shore. "Just loop it around that." He indicated a metal clip on the edge of the boat. She weaved it around, uncertainly. She actually kind of liked doing something, it made her feel useful for the first time since they arrived. He turned a key and started an engine, confidently negotiating their way out of the harbor.

As they moved to the open water, he killed the engine and busied himself with readying the main sail. The wind caught it and he took the helm and pointed them out to sea.

Gingerly Caroline moved towards the front of the boat. She had to unclip and re-clip her safety cable a couple of times. She watched her feet (heels bad) and her head (height worse) as she negotiated her way towards to front (the prow?). Nothing killed that image of Kate and Leo quicker than a bright orange badly-fitting lifejacket, she thought.

So much for their big discussion, anyways. Thus far, he hadn't said a word to her that wasn't telling her when to duck. She sat down and looked miserably out to sea.

* * *

Tyler watched her sulkily move around the boat away from him and felt bad despite himself. He was concentrating hard on trying not to lose the wind. He knew right now he couldn't stop what he was doing and go talk to her, because despite not wishing to admit it, he had forgotten some of his sailing skills from lack of practice.

He felt it wasn't his fault though. As soon as he had opened his eyes this morning he was overwhelmed with the urge to get out on the boat. It had been like that every day since the change; today it was yachting, yesterday it was climbing, the day before he had run the distance of a marathon. None of it seemed to burn off the energy he had.

The family hadn't looked after the boat since his father had died. He knew as soon as he had switched on the engine, that it was not functioning properly. It had not been winterized at all and the diesel tanks were almost empty. The yacht looked frail and weather-beaten; it was badly in need of paint and he hadn't checked the bilges or even cleared the valves. He hadn't even checked the weather reports, or logged in with the harbormaster before he set out, (was his radio even functioning?). He knew his father would be livid with his lack of due process. His favorite saying had been 'respect the sea, or she won't respect you' and he knew he had been reckless in bringing Caroline out here.

If he was honest, he knew that the next time he switched that engine on it would fail. He glanced her way again and continued to battle to keep the main sail bloated.

Could she tell that they were in trouble?

* * *

"Oh my god, he's taking her to his Club. How are we going to get in?" Bonnie panicked. "We aren't members."

"Its okay, pull up to the guard." Stefan said reassuringly.

He compelled the guard to think they were guests of the Lockwoods and it was perfectly ok for them to be here. Bonnie drove on, her heart thundering in her chest.

The found somewhere to park away from the harbor, and hoped that Tyler and Caroline were too preoccupied to notice their arrival.

"You better get started." Elena asked Bonnie, but her friend looked worried.

"Here? But there are people everywhere. What if someone sees?"

"I don't think you have a choice. In any case, they will just think you are talking to us." Stefan suggested. "I'll look like I am responding, just in case."

So she began to do the spell, palms raised to the roof of the car, her eyes rolling back into her head with Stefan nodding and mouthing responses to her like an idiot. Elena looked on at Tyler and Caroline through her binoculars. She saw the boat being lowered into the harbor, and quietly spoke to Stefan.

"I think he's taking her out on the water."

Immediately, Bonnie stopped chanting and flung her eyes open.

"If she goes out there – I can't do anything for her. My spell needs proximity. I told you, I can't focus this on him if he's a moving target. Once they are out there, I won't know where they are."

The three of them got out of the car, and as the _Eloise _pulled out of the harbor, they walked to the dockside and watched her go.

Elena, not prone to cursing, decided some nautical terms were appropriate for the moment, and let rip.

* * *

The yacht hit a small wave and sea water splashed into her face. She wiped it out of her eyes and pretended that it was just the salt water that she found there.

"Are you ok?" he yelled down the length of the yacht. And she nodded.

"I'm fine." She wasn't.

He went quiet again and she sighed. Why was she here?

At that moment, Tyler began to curse. The wind had dropped away and even she could tell that the weather was eerily quiet. She realized that no-one else was out in a weekender like theirs. Sure, they had passed motor boats beforehand and she had been envious of the women sat relaxing in the fall sunshine on decks not covered in rigging, drinking glasses of champagne. But for the past ten minutes there had been nothing at all. They were alone.

Tyler was struggling now, he had lowered the main sail and raised smaller ones. He shouted 'ready about', the boom swung round and she remembered to duck. He began cranking things and pulling ropes, but nothing he did could seem to get them on the move again.

"Why don't you use the engine?" She suggested nervously.

"Because that's not real sailing!" he said, trying to cover his mistake, and making her feel foolish for suggesting it. She felt more salt-water rush to her eyes.

His agitation grew as he stomped around the yacht, pushing past her at a couple of points. She tried to keep out of his way, but he was randomly trying things that had him dashing all over the place, whereas her movement was restricted by the dumb lifejacket and safety cable. Eventually, when he seemed to have run out of options, he disappeared into the cabin and she heard him try the radio. Nothing but crackle. When he came out he swore loudly, and hurled a small wrench overboard as far as he could fling it. He smacked the lever to lower the anchor; at least they wouldn't drift.

She was afraid to ask, but she had to know.

"Are we stuck out here?", he turned to her with a look of pure malevolence. "Tyler, are we stuck out here?" she repeated. He banged his fist so hard on the fiberglass roof of the cabin, his hand went through it. He swore again, and used his good hand to nurse it. She could sense the blood, and when she stepped towards him to help, he turned his back on her.

"Please Tyler, let me see." But instead, he marched away to the prow of the boat and looked silently out to sea. She could see the tension building in his jaw-line, as he ground his teeth she began to worry. In her purse was a handkerchief; she found it now and went to him. She wouldn't take no for an answer.

She made her way to him, unhooking herself section by section and when she reached him, touched him on the shoulder. He shrugged her off, so she used both hands forcefully to turn him to face her.

"Let me see." She said, in a tone meant to suggest there was no option.

The cut was dripping blood, it took every bit of strength she had not to launch herself at the him and drink it down. She breathed constantly to calm herself and eventually the feeling faded. She reached for his hand and although he gave her an unhelpfully mean look, he allowed her to examine it. She pulled a thread of the fiberglass from the wound. It wasn't as bad as it had first looked, so she wrapped the handkerchief around it and tied it firmly. When she finished she kept hold of his hand and looked up at his face.

"Tyler. It's not your fault." She said.

"Well, whose fault is it? I don't see anyone else out here with a fucked-up-hand and a boat adrift. I _am_ an idiot! My father was right."

She winced. Time to try a different approach.

"Tyler, what's going on with you? You can talk to me." He shrugged, his body taut. Even with her vampire strength (she was properly aware of that right now), he was probably a fair match to her.

"Nothing."

"No, that's not true." She forced him to sit, pulling him down next to her. He jiggled one of his legs.

"You went through something awful, Tyler, I was there, I saw it. I know you're scared about going through it again."

"I'm not scared." He said forcefully. "Of anything." He added.

She took a deep breath, this was going to be harder than she thought. She took his other hand in hers and rubbed her thumb gently over his palm feeling the warm whorls of papery skin. She didn't speak for a moment, allowing the motion to calm him, just like it had when she had stroked his back when they had been together before.

"Tyler, I like you. I really like you, you know I do," she began again, "and I think you know we went through something major that night." She searched his eyes for signs of response, but found nothing but that familiar twitch of tension in his jaw. She held his hands lightly so as not to worsen his injury. She pushed down the feelings that the smell of blood were bringing to the fore; she was acutely aware that she was in grave danger if she turned. He may not be able to control himself. On this boat, miles from anyone, she would be in trouble.

"You can talk to me. I know you know that. Why won't you open up to me?" Then to her irritation, she began to cry; big solid tears of frustration plopped from her eyes onto the deck, mingling with his blood. It seemed to bring him round. He let go of her hand and caressed her face.

"Don't cry." He said brushing her tears away. He leant in to her, stealing the lightest of kisses. She began to open lips, wanting more, but he pulled back.

Bobbing seagulls floated towards them, then took off noisily, on route back towards the coastline. For the second time that day, she felt envy. Still, she waited for him to speak.

"I lied to you." He said. Another pause and she waited longer. It wasn't like they were going anywhere.

"I am scared. I am scared of myself. I am so strong, I don't know what to do with it. I break things when I only mean to hold them. I get so angry, that I…" he drifted away into remembering some incident he clearly regretted. "It was bad before I turned, but its even worse now. I can't be around anyone; not you, not the guys, not my mom. I don't trust myself, I don't even _like_ myself. I hate who I've become!"

The relief of opening up to her was evident, his body relaxed of all the tension. Her hand went immediately to her favorite spot on the back of his head, where his soft hair met the nape of his neck. She curled her fingers into the spot, over and over again.

She realized she had dreamt of being with him again like this, the two of them alone together. A sense of neediness passed through her body with a pain sharper than the blood lust.

"I don't hate you, Tyler. I think I love you." She said.

She moved closer and at long last he pulled her to him. He crushed her body against his, so he could kiss her long and hard and passionately.

His heart, like hers, was for just a moment, free to race without control.


	4. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

**Quick update: Caroline and Tyler are anchored at sea, on a boat with no engine and no wind to get them home. Caroline has used the opportunity to get Tyler to talk to her, and they have both admitted feelings they hadn't voiced before. However, he is bleeding and she is afraid that if she turns, things could get ugly. On the shoreline, Stefan, Elena and Bonnie are left helpless to act.**

**Final chapter folks – hope you think it's a good'un!**

**Dog Day Afternoon**

**Chapter 4: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing**

"So kids, why exactly are we looking out to sea….?" All three of them jumped as Damon spoke.

"What are you doing here?" Elena said, thinking this day was going from bad to worse.

"Ah, I may have listened in just a little bit to your oh-so-brilliant plan. And kids, lets be honest, you just don't have any fun unless I'm around." He smirked, raising his expensive sunglasses so he could wink at Bonnie, who sneered in return. "So, where are they, dog boy and vampire girl?"

"Where do you think?" said Stefan, with a raise of his eyebrows. Damon cottoned on.

"Well why haven't you gone after them? You aren't seriously going to leave her with him alone are you? He's dangerous." A note of genuine worry had entered his voice. He may profess not to have had any residual feelings for Caroline, but in reality, he was quite protective of her now she had turned vamp and was, as he a put it, 'a lot more interesting'.

"If you didn't have a boat," he said, "you should have taken one!"

He strode away towards the moorings and choose a motorboat with a couple of berths. He unhooked the boat's painter and jumped on board. Breaking open the engine housing, he fiddled with the electrics until the engine started.

Stefan felt shame run right through him. He should have thought to do this himself. Elena and Bonnie were running up the boardwalk beside him, just as Damon pulled away.

"We should follow." Stefan said, looking around for a boat that he too could steal. He found a day-cruiser, with a small wind breaker that was just big enough for the three of them.

"Get in," he said.

His eyes didn't leave the club house as the girls clambered aboard. Someone was running towards them realizing boats were being stolen; they began to shout and raise the alarm.

"Hurry," he hissed, dragging Bonnie on board, "we don't have much time."

Stefan didn't possess his brother's skill for grand larceny, but he didn't need it as luckily the owner had carelessly left the keys in the boat. He switched the electrics on so they would have lights, then grabbed the pull-start on the outboard motor, giving it a couple of firm tugs. By now, a team of staff and appalled bystanders were running towards the harbor. A security guard pulled his gun from its holster. He looked like he meant business.

"Get down!" Stefan shouted and the girls ducked as best they could as two shots rang out over their heads. Luckily they were fairly wide of their target, but Stefan took it that he shouldn't hang around and grabbed the tiller, making a desperate attempt to negotiate his way out of the harbor. He clipped a couple of boats as they headed for open sea.

"How will we know which way to go?" shouted a desperate Elena over the noise of the chugging motor. She finally got up from her position from the filthy floor as they were now out of range.

"If we get away from the shore, I may be able to hear them." Stefan said. Hoping, rather than knowing, that this would be the case. "In any case," he added, "when have you ever known Damon to be hard to find?"

"That's what I was worried you'd say." Bonnie added.

Elena chewed her lip as she looked back to shore where a search party was being organized, not for her friend, but for them – the boat thieves.

* * *

Damon used a bit of boat knowledge, his keen eyesight and even keener hearing to find the couple. He had estimated how much ground they would have covered and had headed in a logical direction towards a nearby island which was probably considered the right distance away for a day's pleasure cruise.

He was no stranger to boats, having spent rather a lot of money and time on one back in the eighties. When he hadn't been snorting coke out of some hookers' cleavage, he had been cruising around in circles drinking the proceeds of his stock market windfalls. Frankly, he could barely remember a single thing about the year 1984. In any case, the one thing it had taught him was that people like him could get away with anything if they had enough money. And for some reason, he really hated that.

He spotted the boat from about three miles away. They appeared not to be drifting, (so at least that idiot Tyler knew enough to stop that from happening). He cursed and dropped the engine's speed to a few knots. He wanted to hear what was going on, before he made his entrance.

He strained his hearing to pick up even the slightest sounds, but found it was surprisingly quiet. No, he definitely could detect something. It sounded like… like…

Oh hell. He was too late.

* * *

It was cramped in the cabin, but they had found surprisingly athletic ways to make use of the small space. It hadn't been like before, this time, it was fun, playful even. When Caroline had hooked her toe accidentally onto a little galley kitchen rack, she had brought the whole thing clattering down around them and he had actually thrown his head back and laughed; a long and hearty sound, that made her feel happy too.

Afterwards, he had sat her on his lap and held her close. She snuggled into his warm body and tried not to mind the fact that this wasn't really helping them get home.

"Do you think someone will find us soon?" she asked hopefully, "I think my mom will get worried if I don't contact her." He had nuzzled her neck and she soon forgotten her question.

He still couldn't quite control his emotional surges, but he did however notice that she made him feel calmer. He actually felt a strong need to protect her, which is maybe why he had stayed away from her for the previous three days. When anyone came near her, he had felt his metaphorical heckles rise.

Now he was using the backs of his fingers to stroke the soft blonde hairs that stood up on her arm.

"You're cold." He said and grabbed a blanket to wrap her in. She snuggled further into his chest, drawing her arms further around him. He could smell the Bergamot in the shampoo she used and breathed in the scent deeply. He told her how all his senses seemed heightened now. She leaned back, took his injured hand and looked at it and told him it was the same for her. She said that the blood she drank made everything seem more real, more alive. She said it took time to learn control, but it could be done. She lowered his hand and returned to her previous position neatly proving her point.

He told her he was truly sorry that he had got them into this predicament. He was even more sorry that he had been acting crazy lately. He said that now he was with her, he felt the madness was beginning to subside.

At that, she pulled him down to kiss her and he felt his body begin to pulsate with the need for her again. She clearly felt it too and repositioned herself to straddle him, taking his face in her hands. He took the corners of the blanket she was wrapped in and supported her body, feeling himself growing hard as she let her hands wander.

At that moment, he heard the door of the galley being kicked open. He scrabbled to his feet, and Caroline was unceremoniously dropped.

Tyler strode fully naked into the galley, where the Vampire, Damon Salvatore, greeted him with ready and glinting fangs.

* * *

"_Vampire!"_ he growled - a deep throaty sound that he didn't even know he could make until now. Damon took a small step back as in front of him was a fully naked man, with deep yellow and very angry eyes, and livid in every sense of the word.

"Leave her alone, dog." Damon said, with not quite as much bravado as he had hoped.

Caroline, who had scrabbled to find at least some of her clothes, had now also ducked into the galley close behind the naked Tyler. She threw a blanket around his neither regions which he took from her, without his eyes ever leaving the Salvatore brother in front of him.

"Damon? What the hell are you doing here?" she said, "Why have you kicked the door in?"

His eyes briefly glanced her way and realized his mistake. What he thought was the sound of struggle, was something quite different.

"I thought you were in trouble!" he said, then finally put two and two together. "Oh my God, I need to wash out my eyes! Euw..."

Caroline chucked a shoe at him, but missed. His body relaxed and his vamp teeth retracted.

Tyler did not stand down. If anything, his stance became more animal like; he readied himself to pounce, curving his body towards the vampire. If Caroline and Damon hadn't been so busy finding out why each other was there, they would have noticed how dangerous the situation had become. When Tyler launched, it took them both by surprise.

Damon was knocked off his feet with the sheer ferocity of the move. He was only saved from being killed by the lack of space in the galley, which had meant Tyler could not sink his teeth into him. He may have remained 99% percent human to look at, but the 1% beast was seriously menacing and had utterly taken control.

Damon quickly recovered and was immediately his vamp self again, evening the score. He used his incredible speed as momentum to knock Tyler away from the doorway he was blocking. He made a dash for the bow of the boat, with Tyler leaping up ably behind him.

Caroline didn't remember when she started screaming, but suddenly she was. Damon and Tyler hit the deck together and tried to tear chunks out of each other. They made horrible sounds, like wild animals fighting. Damon smacked Tyler's hand down on the edge of an oar, forcing his wound open. Caroline found her vampire teeth protracting from her gums before she could control it. She hissed at them both to stop.

In the distance, another boat appeared. If she didn't step in fast, they'd have killed each other or they would all be discovered. Although she was scared of the flailing arms and legs moving at incredible speed, she had to take a risk and jump in, trying to separate them before the boat reached them. At that precise moment, Tyler had reached up and grabbed the boom. With serious force he aimed it at Damon's head. Damon ducked and Caroline caught the full weight of it on her temple. She went down hard.

Something about Caroline's predicament seemed to wake up the Tyler in the animal. He gave an almighty shove to Damon and sent him spinning backwards. Damon took the opportunity to jump across to his own launch, tethered alongside the _Eloise_. Tyler flew to Caroline's side. He held her body in his arms, his eyes returning to normal as the fear for her wellbeing took over from the rage.

"Caroline! Caroline!" he shook her gently, but she didn't respond.

In a flash, his rage returned. He lay Caroline's body down gently on his boat then took a massive leap across to Damon's, which he was rapidly trying to re-start. The boys got into it again, fighting across both boats.

Their battle was interrupted by the sound of chugging. Damon, who at that moment was being choked by one of Tyler's ropes, strained his eyes to the horizon to see who was coming. Suddenly, as he was slipping away from consciousness, Tyler went limp and sat straight down. The rope loosened around Damon's neck. He didn't understand what had happened, but he was grateful it had. He fell onto his knees and forced himself to recover.

Stefan pulled their little boat up beside the others. It was choking with black fumes from where he had been hard on the throttle. Bonnie was sat cross-legged on the deck, seemingly in a trance, her palms facing upwards to the sky. Elena scrambled quickly up the rope ladder hanging from the _Eloise_ and ran immediately to Caroline's side.

"Come on, Damon, we have to get on board the _Eloise_."

"What, why do we?" he said, his head fuzzy with adrenaline.

Stefan pointed to the horizon, where two police boats were bearing down on them, followed by at least three of the Club's own launches, packed with angry club members.

"Oh crap." Damon said.

"Exactly." Stefan agreed. He lifted Bonnie, still in her pose, up to Damon, who had made his way on to the only non-stolen boat and readied himself to carry her on board. Stefan scrambled up behind her. The sounds of police sirens drifted across the water.

"That's an awful lot of people to compel." Damon said. "It would be quicker to kill them you know."

"I'll take the left side, you take the right." Stefan said. Damon looked at him.

"You're kidding, right?"

"What do you think?" Stefan said, just as the police loud hailer told them to lie down on deck with hands palm down.

"Ah, you're no fun anymore." Damon complained.

* * *

After some considerable persuasion (the whining kind, as opposed to the compelling kind), Caroline had asked her mom to get her friends off the hook. Although Sheriff Lockwood wasn't happy about it, she called in some favors and got all charges dropped on the basis that their actions were only because they thought her daughter was adrift at sea and needed help, (she was fuzzy on the details herself).

For the damage his wild escape from the harbor had caused, Stefan agreed to put in twenty hours of community service at the Club. He didn't mind, preferring to take it as an opportunity to listen to the older club members reminisce about the old times whilst cleaning their pool.

Caroline surprised everybody by how quickly she had recovered (well, almost everybody) and she told her mom she would feel better recuperating at Tyler's house. When she arrived, he folded her into his arms and asked her to stay until things improved for him. She agreed and they went about finding a way out of his 'hormonally challenging' time together. She had a lot to think about, not least of which was how to break the news to Matt.

Back at the Salvatore mansion, Elena curled herself into Stefan's arms.

"Phew, you smell of pool cleaner!" She complained, wriggling away from him. This only made him chase her around the bed a little bit more than normal. Her pleasurable little shrieks reverberated about the almost empty rooms.

Damon covered his ears with as many pillows as he could find. When he could stand it no longer, he got up and went out. He decided he would eavesdrop on Bonnie's house again, as that always seemed to prove interesting. Like that Chinese curse, he thought, 'may you live in interesting times'.

Life was nothing at all when it was boring…. And he did so very much _hate_ to be bored.

**

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Hope you enjoyed that. Let me know what you thought.**


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